“Justin has proven to be a dedicated employee and has valuable institutional knowledge of the Ag Enhancement Program. More importantly, he understands the farmer’s perspective,” said Johnson. “We’re pleased he has accepted this new responsibility and we look forward to continuing a successful program.”

Bryant, a Montgomery County native, came to TAEP in 2007 as the hay and feed storage cost share program coordinator. Bryant graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture and earned a Master of Science degree in plant science from the University of Tennessee.

“I’m excited to get started in this new position,” said Bryant. “I work with a great group of staff who are dedicated to making this program better each year.”

The Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program is a cost share initiative administered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to help farmers make long-term, strategic investments to increase profitability. Funding for TAEP was fully restored this year in Gov. Bill Haslam’s budget, which was supported by the Tennessee General Assembly.

Producers recently received approval announcements for nearly 5,000 projects from TAEP. Those producers are encouraged to complete approved projects and submit their reimbursement requests as soon as possible. Any producers not planning on using their approved allocations need to submit the ‘Request to Decline Funds’ form by the Sept. 30 deadline so they won’t be penalized if they apply in the future.